Ranger | New Belgium Brewing

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Now, as an introduction, I purchased this beer in a New Belgium variety pack box. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had had Fat Tire quite a few times (hard beer to avoid), so I did expect some fairly mid-grade craft beers that were exemplary of their respective styles and fairly balanced in flavor profile. With the first two out of the pack, Blue Paddle and Skinny Dip, I have to say I was underwhelmed and not impressed. But then it came time for the Ranger...

A: A fairly standard appearance of an IPA. Golden in color with hints of red and brown, a nice head and some decent carbonation activity. My pour was fairly rigorous yet did not produce a too lively head and the head faded away rather quickly.

S: Some yeast, some bread notes, but overwhelmingly hops. Nice citrus notes too, with a hint of pine and maybe a hint of pepper. A fairly aromatic and balanced beer.

T: The Ranger hits a home run with its flavor. Predominantly a hoppy IPA, it kicks hard with bitterness but has a really favorable and distinct grapefruit flavor. There's a touch of sweetness in the body as well as the flavors of light toasted malt but overly it's hops and grapefruit to the max. The aftertaste is pleasant, with a little spice and pepper but nothing too dramatic or distracting. Overall a very balanced and well bodied IPA that serves as a blueprint for the style.

M: Crisp and fresh, smooth but not silky. Nice carbonation, good twang and a nice aftertaste. Balanced.

O: Overall, if a new beer drinker came to me and ask, "What is an IPA that, to you, tastes closest to the formula of an American IPA and exemplifies that style in a way that defines it?" The answer would be New Belgium's Ranger. It is by a long way NOT the best IPA nor is it characterized by uniqueness and distinctive flavors, but it is certainly one of the most standard and balanced beers of its type. A wonderful hop balance, nice body and crisp citrus (grapefruit) notes. A solid A-.

I can’t say enough how much I love New Belgium. Although my favorite of this brewery has to go to Rampant, I must say that Ranger is the little brother of the Imperial counterpart. I find every aspect of this beer to be smooth, suave, drinkable and pleasant. Without saying more on this topic, I’ll dive right into the review of each part of the beer.

Appearance: The appearance is a light golden color that reflects the warm sunlight that grew the hops that went into this great beer. The head comes in full and thick with a vigorous pour, but soon settles down to a snow-kissed cap that paints a beautiful fine array of lacing on your glass. But be sure to pour this one instead of drinking from the bottle. The manufacturer can only do so much to ensure that you enjoy every aspect of this beer so you will miss out on some characteristics if you don’t pour it into a worthy glass.

Smell: I get an array of aromas when I take a deep smell of this great beer. I get a malty-cracker and toasty smell that very quickly subsides into a floral and herbal tone with noticeable bubblegum, tropical fruits like mango, and then some citrusy apricot. The smell is excellent and it is one that you really should try before taking a sip.

Taste: The taste is excellent. I get the medium-bodied maltiness which is perfect because then it gives way to the carbonation that explodes on your tongue and is accompanied by a pleasant cut of alcohol which is a respectable 6.5% ABV and 70 IBUs. The hops are delicate but present and the alcohol content is fine-tuned, but noticeable. If you were to change anything about this beer than it would fall apart, I think. This beer is so drinkable and I find it to be one of my favorite ‘go-to’ beers that are available. What is surprising is that after two of these, the alcohol really sneaks up on you so be vigilant while you toss back a few of these classic IPAs by New Belgium.

Feel: The feel is smooth and silky and begs you to take another gulp. The carbonation is pleasantly delayed and gives way to a nice zingy zest that comes from the carbonation playing with the citrus tones. The very last thing that I feel is a resin-like coating on the tongue that lingers every so pleasantly even after the carbonation and flavors have dissipated.

Overall: Overall this beer is great. I think that it has a complex flavor and a well-timed release of each component of its flavor and mouthfeel. Once again, the aroma and taste are excellent and the complexity of this beer compensates for the slightly low end ABV. I would pour through a few of these easily and I am confident that you will too.

Currently my favorite IPA for just kicking back and having a beer solo. Great day to day beer. Just the right amount of ABV and hops to get you in a relaxed state of mind. The piney yet grapefruit citrus tones are excellent in this beer as well.

Aroma: Fresh, bright, lively, and welcoming! Piney, resinous, citrusy/tropical (with notes of pineapple, grapefruit, lemon, and tangerine), and softly floral. Gently bready, caramelish, and toasty malts make their way through as well - and that's not always the case with such a bright hop aroma. I have no idea how many hops have gone into this, but in comparison to some other brightly aromatic IPAs this might be a case of "sometimes less is more".

Flavor: New Belgium is known for balanced beers with an emphasis on malt, and that's certainly the case here. The aroma is quite bright with hops, and the flavor follows suit, but they're superbly balanced against the malt and it's not brash or "raspy" at all. The hop bitterness helps with that, not stepping too far out, but still backing it up solidly (probably somewhere around the standard 70 IBUs most brewers go for). As you progress through the glass the flavors seem to move around, appearing piney and grassy here, citrusy and gently berry-like there, and then perhaps bready and honeyish right back where it seemed piney just two sips ago. Some mint comes in, as does some soft earthiness as it warms. The flavors all stand out on their own, but remain centered enough that if you don't focus too much it's still "one". It finishes dry and lingering with just a light touch of fading sweetish malt amidst piney, grassy-lemony, and leafy hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and gently crisp.

Overall: Really nicely done! Superbly balanced, and remarkably well-rounded and polished. It's not an IPA that hits you in the head, but it will certainly make you open your eyes - and if I'm going to have more than one, I certainly don't want to be hit in the head! Drinkable!

Whatcha see? Apple juice appearance, white head that leaves splotchy lacing. Whatcha smell? Old white bread, pungent hops that comes across as wet dog food, and a really unpleasant pine. Whatcha taste? Grassy, earthy, old malts. Bitter, astringent, and piney hops. Super carbonated like a light lager. Alcohol is noticeable. Mouth feel is prickly and dry. Whatcha think? Just a bad IPA in my opinion. If you like an all earthy hay-type IPA then you might like this. Really hard to finish. D-

Pleasant aroma, smells of ripe fruit, fresh spring air. Unfortunately it just smells weak, tastes weak and feels weak. The carbonation, or lack thereof, just finishes off my dislike of this one. I bought this to take a break from some of my home-brew IPA's I found to be a tad bit weak, and was greeted with a worse tasting, weaker brew.

After a second taste I like this even less, the flavor is not only weak, it's just not very good.

And a third taste, I asked a bar keep for an ipa and he poured it without a word. One sip, and I said this is New Belgium's ranger isn't it? He smiled. I shook my head and walked away. It loses another quarter point.

About two years ago I had a can of this beer and I thought it was the most disgusting thing on the face of this planet. And why people would want to drink a "pinecone" was beyond me. Of course, I didn't review it then, and I've garnered a bit more experience and respect for different styles. So here we are again, two years later.

Appearance : Absolutely gorgeous. The head is large and in charge, memory foam yellow, three fingers and doesn't descend for a good long while. When it does, it sits at about a finger, but you'd barely be able to tell because of the bountiful lace that covers like a dusty house. The body is a peach-amber glow, hazy and divine. 70% opaque from my view. This is a serious 4.75 out of 5. Just gorgeous.

Aroma : Tropical. Peaches, mangoes, and pineapple. Among those fruits is the trademark IPA armpit-like smell, but it's not too off-putting. Malts are fresh, churned, and slightly baked in the nose. Pretty on-par and not bad.

Taste : Yeah, this is pretty bitter and it packs a punch - but it's manageable. Very tropical in its abundance of hops, I've got peach and papaya here. Maybe a hint of stiff underripe pineapple. It ends fairly dirty, but the feel is clean. It lingers on with some dirt and grass, leaving a coating on the palate. This one is a sipper.

Feel : Creamy and abundant, but lively with carbonation. The end is stiff and woody, though clean; a bit parched and waves a dry goodbye. This feeling lingers on the back of the tongue.

Overall : A respectable IPA. Back then I couldn't distinguish styles and if something was bitter I'd just say it was bad. That's not the case anymore. I'd recommend Ranger to anyone looking for a STRONG, hop-heavy, tropical IPA with lots of dryness. That's what's presented here.

Big thanks go to Kegatron for gifting me with this pounder can. Poured into a standard pint glass, this brew appears a perfectly clear color of pale gold with a yellowish stained cap that is more than a finger strong and is composed of rather large bubbles. As the cap fades, it leaves some patches of lacing effect on the glass.

The aroma is minorly pine-like and herbal with a grassy inclusion of hops that blends into a bit of a mineral aspect. Mild hints of citrus and some faint candy sweetness scent. This brew is all about the hops in the aroma and while it isn't bold and aromatic, it is concise, mild and enjoyable without fault.

The taste is minorly bitter with some faint herbal grassy quality that blends into herbs, a bit of pine and some mineral to citrus notes. A bit of toasty grain is present making this a nicely balanced ipa without any residual sweetness. The backend has some rindy notes of bitter peel that are a cross between grapefruit and/or orange with a hint of cheese and sulfur.

This is a light bodied brew with a moderate amount of carbonation. It is crisp and easy drinking. Not an ipa that is groundbreaking or something to sell a kidney over but this is something fitting of the style and something I would reach for to drink effortlessly while doing yardwork. Thanks for sharing Heath!

Many IPAs have more malt to balance out hops, but I think this is a good example of a cleaner, perhaps more traditional IPA. Overall I'd say it's a good, straight-forward IPA. It's not the best I've had, but it did impress me with it's clean taste, and overall character.

Sampled February 6th, 2010
A healthy pour into my New Belgium Goblet produces a three finger thick, pale tan colored head that leaves a nice lacing pattern on the sides of my glass as it slowly subsides. The beer is a rich copper hue that shows bright, almost metallic copper hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of grapefruit zest, tangelos, some kumquat, a big lychee note and a touch of pine and herbal notes. These last two only lightly accenting the nose. There is just a hint of crystal malt sweetness and toasted cracker grain character noticeable, but only just so. This is solidly hoppy, but doesn't have that over the top hop character that the most aggressive examples of the style have.

A bit too cold, which accentuates the clean, biting bitterness and a pine needle flavor there are also notes of juniper, and a medicinal sort of hop note. The ample hop fruitiness is still noticeable, but I definitely need to let this warm up just a touch. A quick stint in the microwave makes this chilled beer a bit fizzier, and a lot fruitier tasting. The beer is quite quaffable, definitely has the lightness that a good IPA should have. Even with the warming, the flavor is not as fruit-forward as the nose; notes of bergamot, tangelo and some softer lychee still play a prominent role.

This is a nice example of an IPA. For those who prefer herbal, pine and bitter notes then this is the beer for you. I think I like a bit more fruit in my hop balance though & I don't think I will be replacing my easy hop fix of Sierra Nevada Torpedo with this beer.

Nice piney smell to this Ranger IPA. The malt backbone is pretty solid which balances the hops very well. There is also a bit of earthiness to the hop flavor as well. It's quite good. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side making it easy drinking. Carbonation is perfect. Just a really solid IPA here. The pine flavor from the Simcoe hops is delicious!